>> results of analyses were skewed in favor of the prosecution >> the fbi can't force the states to look at those cases >> the truth will set you free yeah...don't kid yourself >> the system has failed me >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm david shuster with a look at the top stories. in nigeria it's happened again. boko haram abducted more school girls and u.s. security teams are headed to nigeria. in ukraine the battles between the army and russian separatists were bloody. fears are that ukraine is sliding to all-out law. >> americans are already feeling a severe economic impact from global climate change.

the united states is now joining the effort to try to rescue more than 200 girls kidnapped from a school in north-eastern nigeria. the nigerian government said the u.s. is sending security personnel. police and residents suspect boko haram gunmen, saying they abducted eight girls on a raid on a village. all of this comes as calls for action around the world grows. [ singing ] >>. >> dozens of nigerian americans gathered outside the u.s. consule ute to support the girls, and there was support outside the nigerian embassy in washington. thousands took to the streets of

nigeria's abuja. ynonne ndedge is there. >> reporter: concerned nigerians are on the streets, maftening to the chief of -- marching to the chief of defense staff office to put pressure on security service, to find hundreds of missing girls. the anger is fuelled by the fact that the leader of boko haram has released a new tape in which he says he abducted the girls and plans to sell them on the open market. they are emboldened by the concerns of the international community. the u.n. came out to say what boko haram said they'll do is a crime against humanity. the u.k. promised to help, and the u.s. administration has basically said there has been talks between the united states and nigeria about what can be done to find the girls. many of these people feel the nigeria government ought to take the lead to find them. joining us by phone is robin

sander, a former ambassador. what are the short comics of the nigerian government and how might the u.s. security personnel be able to help. >> good evening. one of the important things is we do have kidnap specialists and the ability to help with special operations in so many areas. i'm glad we are contributing in that area, i know we do that well. other donors, including the ua offered similar assistance. there's a number of things we can help better with in terms of intelligence and the ability to sur veil the borders between nigeria and chad. >> you are attending the world economic forum in nigeria. there has been a lot of security concerns. i wonder if you can describe for us the atmosphere there. >> it's tight. the security environment around most of the facilities is tight.

they have not only the police force, military and security personnel and their form of their intelligence service called triple s. but in and around abuja is very, very difficult to move and tomorrow they have asked for public holidays so they have less people on the streets than they had today. >> boko haram abducted another eight girls. this time from a village. have you been surprised by how brazen boko haram has been, and what do you see as driving all of this? >> well, i think that they are looking at the fact that there is this economic forum going on where you have more than a thousand prominent figures and leaders here in abuja, in the capital. it's so they have access, they can get close enough to the city so they can do something as horrific as kidnapping the young

girls who, right now, we understand, some have been moved cross the border. going back to the earlier point, donors like u.s. and others can help control the border more and help with human intelligence. >> the border has 190 points, 60 manned by nigerian government entities. isn't the border porous. >> there's a number of things that when special teams come in, they can help the nigerians with. better ability to control the border. we have a lot of technological equipment that can be used. there are aircraft that we use a lot for civiling border areas, we are using it now in uganda, to look for joseph kony and

others. we have technology that can be of assistance so there's other nations as well. the bored is a challenge. the other thing is rapid response. it's the biggest challenge. they probably need a 24/7 operation center. they have a joint task force, but somewhere where information that comes in can be disseminated and responded to quickly. that's part of the issue that people are concerned about that there were reports that some of the girls were in these trucks maybe 48 hours after being abducted, at least the first set of girls, and some of the information didn't make it back. >> former u.s. ambassador to nigeria, joining us on the phone from the world economic forum from abuja nigeria. thank you ambassador for being with us, very informative. turning to ukraine, the

fighting in that country between the ukranian army and rebels is so severe that in washington the u.s. senate will have a closed-door briefing on the crisis. to say the highest levels of the u.s. government are concerned would be an understatement. the united states is ready to implement additional sanctions against russia. >> if russian elements continue to sabotage the democratic process and prevent ukraine holding a free and fair election 19 days from now, on the 25th, we are ready to implement additional sanction, and the we is europe, the united states together. the threat from kerry comes as fighting intensifies in eastern ukraine. ukraine's interior minister says the army killed 30 pro-russian insurgents, but the resistance is spreading. paul brennan has been speaking with pro-russian groups in

luhansk. >> the training is basic, and the civilian instructor struggles to reassemble the rifle he stripped down. people gathered around him are keen to learn. if the russians come - there's no indication they will - luhansk could be the first stop. this staunchly pro-russian city would not oppose them. >> translation: it's not a problem. i'm russian and born here. like serbs they were important in kosovo. >> you were born in luhansk, but you see yourself as russian. >> of course. >> this is no picnic in the park. some have sticks and table legs, others have military kits - apparently not supplied by russia. >> reporter: you went into a shop and brought this.

>> yes. >> across town at the city administration building the pro-russian leaders have been following event in odessa and slovyansk. "what if the army tries to come here?", i ask. >> translation: what happened in slovyansk was not an amity terror operation, it was a terror operation against ukranian people, people unsure about the government in kiev, and now understand that the government is abusing its power. >> reporter: the separatist have well-established defensive positions and seem confident they can cope with anything that the ukranian farmee throws at them. they say they don't need the russian army to help hem. step away from the areas where the separatists congregate. and luhansk is peaceful. maniling to that hope. >> we're trying not to be scared. trying to stay calm. >> translation: i'm a resident of the city. i was born here.

it doesn't matter about being ukranian, russian, jewish, tatar, no one is oppressed why the claim that russians are oppressed. >> apt the occupied sbu building new volunteers practised their weapons training and could be doing it for real. the united states is imposing sanctions against people on both sides of the deadly conflict in south sudan. the treasury department says the sanctions will freeze assets in the united states and ban them from being moved outside of the country. thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes since the conflict in south sudan began in december. a new u.s. report has been released about climate change, saying that it's impacting every corner of the united states. water is growing scarcer in dry reasons, rains increasing in wet regions, wildfires are worse,

heatwaves are common and the economic cost is skye rocketing. the report underscores there's time to prevent climate change from becoming more threatening. john terrett is here with the latest. >> yes, this is happening now. that's the paint that the white house is saying, it's happening now. america the beautiful. do you love that song. >> it's a great song. >> it's a fantastic song. america the beautiful may turn that america the stormy and dangerous, according to this study. it's broken down region by region and makes a grim reading. let's dive in. where do you live. in the north-east 64 million people in the densely populated part of the country face heatwaves, heavier rain, snow and coastal flooding as sea levels rise. 80 million people, says the report, in a fast-growing metropolitan area of the country face decreased water supplies and threats from hur karnings that decreased supply is because

of the building going on. the midwest, bread impact, faces longer growing seasons, oddly better yields. the downside is heatwaves, droughts and floods are like i to increase. too little precipitation falls in the vast seat between the two area, the great plains. it's stressing communities causes billions in damages, and climate change will make it worse. already pamped the south-west is expected to get hotter, and the southern part - never rains in southern california, that's true, because it will get drier. urban areas, pound an ranges and the north-west - many native american res vasions face earlier snow coming off the mountains, reducing the supply of water causing ecological and

social economic consequences. let's move to the other two. alaska warmed twice as fast than the rest of the country, according to the report, and higher temperatures, rising see levels and storms threaten the globally important and diverse ecosystems of hawaii. this is a question for you as a politico-type person. why is the white house releasing this? >> it's an election year, but they are required by congress to release it every four years. >> they want to galvanise the base. >> we'll talk about it. thank you. the obama administration is expected to call for action on clean , it will fire up activists, and it is, after all, an election year. mike viqueira and in washington. let's talk about promises versus

there was, is the new report much of a game changer. >> i think it will harden the political counter. it's a mid-year election. politically, not to mention in terms of climate and ramifications that come from the report that the administration made public. you know as well as i that this is likely to entrench the opinions heading into the election, and you are right, there's a political element, no question. in order to fire up the base, it is the only people you can rely on to turn out in non-presidential years. >> the obama administration - i mean, moving forward, is this a signal from them that this is the number one environmental issue of the final two years of the obama presidency. >> that is a great question. and we hear about the president's refocus on environmental issues. for a couple of reasons. many in the environmental community, activists, are not happy with the president. he delayed the key teen pipeline

decision, enhanced and talked laudably about fracking. we had a briefing with the minister, increased energy production, united states will surpass saud your in yale and gas production, most due to fracking. that is something that environmentalists feel strong about. remember the cap in trade bill opposed by the republicans and democrats from swing states. that is a dead letter. the white house is not trying to bring it up. >> mike viqueira at the white house, thanks as always. southeastern florida is considered a vulnerable area in the united states when it comes to the impact of rising sea levels. ' and other areas are --' and other areas are taking steps. engineers in florida have a big project keeping the water out. natasha ghoneim is there. >> reporter: i'm standing on a

major road on miami beach after high tide and a heavy rain. i would be standing up to my shins in floodwater. that's why there's a massive work under way, installing drainage pipes, elevating the road six inches in an attempt to alleviate flooding in the future. an expert said these efforts are for naught. >> reporter: more than 1200 miles of picturesque coastline lure people to visit and live in the sunshine state. one day it will be washed away by the ocean. scientists say it's not a matter of if, it's when. >> we are really living on borrowed time. we'll gj enjoy it. i can't appreciate the overexuberance for building. >> geologist harold wanless

refers to the boom. he has been warning officials about a rise in sea levels. >> this is the limestone ter rain. >> he says the cities are in danger because they are built on porous limestone and sand, it will let rising sea water in from below, saying the levels will rise soon. according to an estimate, as early as 2048 there's expected to be a 2 foot sea level rise. that means the west side of low-lying miami beach will be flooded. >> it's barely a mortgage cycle away. saming havman calls herself a climate rev -- sage hoffman calls herself an environment refugee, after getting trapped outside her condo, rising sea levels was not a phenomenon. she's trying to get her mother to move inland, to no avail.

>> we need to do something before other people, you are considered crazy. >> hoffmann says a move to safer ground is motivated by family history. whilst thinking about the move her great-grandparents fled the dust bowl and moved from new mexico to colorado. people that think she's crazy. she says she plans to move away from florida within the next 20 years. >> during my lifetime florida will be less liveable because of the ipp trusion of water. . >> reporter: in as early as 34 years, sea levels could rise two feet, here on this construction cone meaning flooding will be worse. natasha ghoneim, live from miami beach. great report. norton antivirus software -

beware, the company behind the software says it no longer works. plus the new campaign ad - one of the most memorable. we'll show it to you and get an update on the primary elections. power politics is next.

if today's power politics, this is a primary election day in indiana, ohio, and north carolina. north carolina has several challengers, between the conservatives and tea party. tom til us is favoured, endorsed by business groups and tax, including one run by karl rove, but faces a challenge from greg brannon, an op stet rirn, backed by the tea party, and favourite kentucky senator rand paul. if no candidate clears 40% there'll be a run-off in july. established republicans hate the idea of waiting two months before putting resources to kay hagan, a vulnerable democrat

seeking election. in order for the g.o.p. to pick up the net six seats needed to take control of the senate a republican has to be hagan in north carolina. in the second congressional district, renee elmers is facing a primary challenge because she supported immigration reform. a moderate version of it. frank roche made it a single-issue primary and the close race is underscored by so many establish republicans are skittish about immigration. there have been 15,000 ads at a cost of over 7 million. 90% of the ads were paid for by groups outside of the state. in iowa, joanie ernst has gone from talking about cast rating pigs and her first dad to riding a harley and packing heat.

watch. >> mum, farm girl and lieutenant col them carrying more than lipstick in her purse. joanie ernst will take aim at wasteful spending. shell set her sites on obamacare, joani will unload. she picked up endorsement from marco rubio, looking for iowa caucuses. in the florida government race former president bill clinton will hold a fundraiser to help chris win back a seat. the republican party, trying to help rick scott is now running this ad. >> i think that if bill clinton would go and resign, and bob green would ask him to do so, we'd be better off.

>> and in indiana, north carolina, and iowa, you have time to participate in the voting. polls close: . >> that is today's power politics. wall street took a tumble today as insurance giant a.i.g. reported a lower profit and twitter stock plunged. the do you falling: -- dow falling:. for millions of americans that bought antivirus software, there's crime news. semantic says the norton virus is dead and no longer a money maker. their vice president told the "wall street journal" that the software combats only 45% of attacks on computer system, letting more than half of the viruses through. rick newman joins us to talk

about this. what do you make. semantics bold statement. why now, what is this about? >> i think semantic has a messaging problem. they are not trying to give retail customers the impression that they have wasted money buying norton antivirus software. they are trying to reverse the slide and rebrand themselves. here is what is going on inside the injury. we remember when viruses were a scare. there's no doubt about it, they are still there. thing about everything in the news about internet security. it's not viruses, it's hackers and thieves that want to steel your information, trade secrets from big companies, disrupt things and conduct cyber terrorism. the threat changed, and norton is trying to say "we know you associate us with antivirus software because that's where we got our start.

we recognise it's shifting to other threats. they are moving to product-based to a service-based that can track the threats in real time. >> i think they are a service company. customers don't think of them that way. nortan is an established company, and as in many other industries the established company lost business to upstarts that came along, more aggressive, backed by venture money, growing fast things and are losing business. they are saying we are back in the game, stop thinking of us, we are the ibm of the industry. we get what is going on, we are on it and with the times. if the products catch about 45% of customers that brought the stuff, should very ignore it completely. is there value in antivirus norton. >> absolutely. it would be a make to say i'm doomed, why should i bother.

what is going on, in a short version, is some of the hackers is getting so good. you cannot keep them out of your system. they are telling us to incorporate consumer clients. you have to accept they'll get in. you have to learn to protect the stuff that matters and deal with it once it's inside. that's what they are saying to the biggest fortune 500 companies and consumers. everyone needs to be vigilant. whatever you do, do not practice unsafe internet. >> rick newman, yahoo columnist, finance columnist - we'll get it right. thanks for coming on. . credit squeeze. the u.s. justice department is close to reaching a plea deal and settlement over allegations the bank, credit swooes helped some avoid taxes. they pleaded guilty and will pay a fine of $1 million. it will be reached also with vmp

par ib us. coming up, a report on climate change, how it's affecting the economy and sending the price of beef sky rocketing. >> a spy plane prompted a delay at the los angeles international airport. we explain how, just ahead.

. >> the obama administration says climate change is an american economic problem that can no longer be ignored. the report released details the way climate change impacts every day life, and says the use of fossil fuels is having a severe effect across the country. the 800-page report lays out the fast economic impact it is having on infrastructure, water supply and agriculture. joining us is benjamin cook.

welcome to the programme. what do you make of this report overall? >> it's great, it's accessible and it's a good job of connecting climate change. recent and future, to real world impacts. people will feel it in the united states in the coming decades. >> some sound frightening, heatwaves, flooding and drier areas. is there anything that can be done to reverse this or should the united states be preparing to live in this society where this stuff happens with regularity. >> some of the changes happened. and there'll be changes in the future that we will not be able to stop. we'll have to adapt to a certain degree. some of the largest projections, the biggest changes we might accept could be ameliorated through mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. >> what are the big changes? >> you mean in the climate? >> yes. >> we expect to see draughts in areas that are dry.

much more severe flooding, sea level rise. you know, those are the big things that come to mind, and they directly impact the development and people's lives and agriculture in a variety of sectors. >> in the midst of the debate united states was hit with the polar vortex which confused a lot of people. can you clarify what is it and isn't? >> the last winter was colder than normal in the united states. the globe as a whole - it was really the eastern united states that was colder than average. the rest of the world was warmer than average. so when we study climate change. we talk about long-term changes, the long-term trend that are part and parcel of the climate change story. any one year or event can't tell us anything specifically about climate change, but it's really the long term inaggregate response that we are focussed

on. as the planet gets warmer, it sends more moisture into the atmosphere, that can dump more snow in the winter months. >> absolutely. with a warmer atmosphere we'll get an energy system. we'll see the current extremes get more extreme. >> how are we doing in terms of monitoring extremes. >> we are doing well. obviously we have satellite observations that are in a lot of areas. some areas are better covered. >> it's a pleasure to have you in, thank you for coming on the programme. among the major issues detailed is water scairsity in the united states, a drought in california is leading to melting snow packs, providing a third of that water. jennifer london has a look at how california is trying to deal with the crisis.

. >> reporter: well, one of the sobering scenarios outlined in the climate assessment report is that the south-west, including california is prone to drought. the state is in the midst forway could be the draught. lack of rain and snow pack contributing factors. california relies on snow melt for 60% of water in the reserve reservoirs, los angeles and california rely on reservoirs. the snow back is measure 4.3% of average - according to the department of california water resources, and some aerial images tell the story of how little snow there is in the mountains. this year n.a.s.a., teamed with sign difficulty from the jet prop ugs laboratory, to use new measuring techniques, taking measurements of the snow pack. this is in the hopes of getting accurate reading, and the

airborne snow observatory began to fly in late march. >> what we are trying to do with the technology is give us a better understanding of the mountain snow parks, so the reservoirs can be managed efficiently, so we understand the science, and what is melting the snow pack, how much sublimation there is of water that goes into the atmosphere and is carried away. flyovers are allowing the scientists to measure. at the highest elevations the snow pack is shallow. >> interesting in the ways they can measure the decreasing snow pack, so they know this is a problem. is there any solution, given the snow pack is getting smaller and smaller? >> well, the solution - that's the key. if we could figure out how to make it rain, that would help the problem. a lot of people say is the drought to blame.

yes, when you are not getting rain, you are not getting iran... >> that was doind jennifer london reporting from los angeles. we'll have more on the global change report that the government released throughout the afternoon and evening on al jazeera. in south korea, a civilian diver working on recovering victims from the sunken ferry died. he became unconscious while trying to fix underwater ropes. he was brought to the surface, but could not breathe. the man died in hospital. divers opened the ships compartments in a search for passengers. the death toll stands at 253. >> in north-east, afghanistan, the hunger and frustration for villages near a mud slide prompted scuffles today. police had to fire shots into the air to disperse a group of villages who rushed a truck

carrying aid. it left the area as officials scrambled to better organise the assistance for survivors. hundreds are feared dead after the slide last week buried part of the village. in italy the government is selling off property in hops of paying off a 2.5 trillion debt. some include a 15th century castle, army barracks and an island in venice. claudio lavanga reports. >> reporter: faced with debt italy's public is fighting to stay afloat. the island of poveglia is one island that they are thinking of selling. it's a 10 minute boat ride from st. mark's square, but miles away from the glamor of venice.

once a dumping ground for plague victims, the island was used as a meant am institution until the '70s. since then it has been abandoned in a state of ruin, and and earnt a reputation as a haunted island. the only tourists are the occasional coast hunters. the state's real estate agency hopes the island's troubled past will not scare off investors. >> translation: the island has been abandoned for 35 years, we put it up for sale because we want it to be valuable and accessible to the public. if it end up in the hands of a vep eegs, the better. >> the state says selling the island will not only help it to raise funds to cut the public debt, but give it a new lease on life. not many ven easterns are buying the explanation. the group of vep easterns living across the lagoon starts the collection to enter the

auctions. with the cbz of $120 each they hope to beat bidders and prevent poveglia falling into other hands. >> the fact that it is abandoned by the state doesn't mean it's been abandoned by the people. the idea that we shouldn't moor there as in neighbouring islands, we do not like. >> by tuesday morning the locals raised $400,000. other participation buyers will have time until toose afternoon to enter their bids. should it end in private hands, the winners gain will be the ven eastern's loss. back in the united states a plea in oklahoma's botched death penalty case. we have details and other news. lawyers for clayton d. lockett want the feds to lead an

inquiry into his botched execution. he died of an apparent heart attack 43 minutes after being given lethal drugs. the governor said justice was served and the people of oklahoma do not have blood on their hand. another inmate was supposed to be executed and his lawyers asked the judge to put a 6-month stay on an execution. chaos interesting a city council meeting in albuquerque. protesters took over the meeting. they accused the city coup of doing -- council of doing nothing to kerb excessive force within the police department. some protesters pushed council members out of their chairs and sat in them. one tried to serve the police chief with a warrant for his arrest. the police chief and council members walked out of the meeting. new jersey lawmakers questioned a former aide to governor chris christie, verying who was behind the -- investigating who was behind the

george washington bridge saga. rena resigned after kelly resigned following the scandal. in california a major connector, interstate 15, is closed both ways for up to two days. a welder working at the bridge site accidentally ignited the fire. the $59 million bridge was scheduled to open. crews are working on demolishing rem nants of it, and clearing the way to opening the interstate again. in new york city the skydivers who parachuted off the tallest building went to court and face felony charges. they posted helmet-cam video. it was the second clip released for jumping off one world trade center. one coasted over the hudson river, before landing in lower manhattan. they pleaded not guilty. i know you are not supposed to do that, but that video is

unbelievable. >> it is. >> thank you for bringing us the story. a cold war relic was at the heart of a major air traffic control meltdown last week in southern california. a ut spy plane caused a glitch at an air traffic control center leading to hundreds of flight delays. the plane is the same is used for spy planes. >> we live in a digital age, how did a glitch like this happen. >> it's quite a story. we have a spy plane based in sacramento. the military, as required, require them to file a flight plan and say this will operate under visual flight rules, meaning the pilot will be looking out for other planes. the traffic control computer controlling all the flights, it got confused. it taught the plane would be

flying low, below 10,000 feet, which is where you fly under visual flight rules. it flied 50-60,000 feet. the computer things the plane will be down at 10,000 feet, how will i route the plane and the commercial jets and private planes to no one runs. >> each other. it turned out too beg a job for the computer. so many flight programs and reprograms, it used up all the memory and everything came to a grinding halt. the f.a.a. says that is what shutdown the system. it happened for more than an hour. hundreds of flights at l.a. x and other airports in southern california or nevada were delayed or cancelled. the f.a.a. says it's now tape care of the problem and changing how flight plans are filed and adding memory to the computer. it was an odd occurrence.

>> how often are u 2 spy planes in the air? >> i was surprised they are around. they are a cold war relic. the air force has 32 planes. they've obviously been upgraded, all new cockpits. they are active. in fact, they were used in afghanistan to look for improvised explosive device, look for bombs, listen in to cell phone conversations, and the military plans to retire them, beginning in 2015. we'll see, they have survived this long. >> great story, thank you. >> just ahead - in canada, there's a new way to dispense medical marijuana, involving shifting the stuff to high tech patients. they take a page from federal express. we get perspective from jacob ward to tell us how coastal

cities around the world will look underwater. that is ahead on al jazeera america.

stephan holzinger colorado's decision to legalize marijuana led to an unforeseen and dramatic rise in hash oil explosions. most of the cases are from amateur attempts to make the oil. police are not sure how to prosecute the producers. hash oil is created by pouring the highly flammable chemical butane through used marijuana leaves. the oil is potent, but fuels can ignite and lead to explosions. canada was the first country to establish a system to localize pot for medicinal purposes. 13 years later a canadian company is providing next day deliver.

the business is drawing center and millions from an north american venture capital form. allen schauffler reports from british columbia. >> reporter: behind the barbed wire-topped fence watched by 70 security cameras, workers take orders. >> we hired about 16 employees. >> the call center busy on day two of operations, a multi-million investment for a seattle based venture capital firm. >> you have never seep a facility like this - it's stayed of the art. . >> backers bidding on bud in canada, but not the u.s. under federal law it is still there considered a dangerous and illegal drug. >> we'd never invest 16 million into a building that could be seized by the federal government at any moment. >> kennedy calls it the biggest legal grow operation. >> it's described as a bank inside of a prison, full of toasters that we are trying to cool. >> the bank will hold $30 million worth of processed

marijuana. the coasters, machinery for controlling the environment where dozens of strains to be packed and shipped by courier to people holding medical prescriptions. >> reporter: we have a chance to see what's in here. so much is propriety, we won't let the camera in. we settled for video from the company, showing little about how they run things. >> reporter: it's not like any other growing operation, it's spotless, there are security cameras and access pads at every turn and the scale is enormous. 70,000 square feet, 39 different growing rooms. brendan kennedy says they'll never do a building this small again. the canadian government and medical association are not fully on board. the official line from ottawa is that pot is not approved as medicine. here is health canada's

statement:. >> how can a physician describe 25 grams of columbian gold or fraser valley high - whatever the names are. >> the doctors want more testing of pot. >> we don't know how it interact with other medications or what dose to use. we have created a multi billion industry. >> the business opportunity is clear cut. >> we have a licence from the federal government of canada to produce, process, package, sell and transport cannabis. >> for kennedy and 11 other licensed growers. up next - hollywood celebrities boycotting the presence of brunei and the hotels he owns - including the

beverly hills hotel - over his policies towards gays and lesbians.

there's a new celebrity protest over controversial new laws in brunei. they introduced a strict islamic law where punishment includes amputation, stoning of gays and lesbians. dozens of celebrities, from ellen to jay leno are boycotting hotels linked to the sultan of brunei. >> reporter: some of those hotels are the bel-air and beverly hills hotel. they are part of the dorchester group. that is owned by an investment agency run by brunei's government. celebrities want to boycott the hotels. celebrities like mia farro saying skip the beverly hills:. >> also, last night there was a protest held outside the beverly

hills hotel. here is jay leno and his wife. also ellen degeneres tweeted out about this writing: >> and you have richard branson who wrote: . >> and also british comedian steven fry wrote: >> now, the c.e.o. flew to the states from london, saying his hotels followed the laws of the u.s. and europe, not bloouni and feels that -- brunei and feels the hotels are being unfairly picked on and the boycott only he'lls employees. >> -- hinneders employees. we've been talking about the climate change report.

in the western united states one of the biggest areas for agriculture and government research shows the average price of eggs is $2.06 - that's a 7% jump from last year. tomatoes $1.63 - up 9% from 2013. beef pricers the highest in 30 years. selling for $5.23. the high cost of beef is because of drought conditions that caused production costs to skye rocket. >> paul brennan joins us from elizabeth colorado. how are the ranchers dealing with this problem? >> reporter: we are in elizabeth colorado. this is high and dry country. what they say is it's getting drier year after year after year. we talked to a lot of ramption and they say -- ranches and they say what they grew up knowing, spring rain and snow, summer thunder storms - they don't happen the way they used to and the land is drying out. it means smaller pastures, higher prices for feed, and that

means smaller herds of cattle and higher beef prices that we see at the supermarkets, and historic highs over $5 a pound. higher than they have been in 30 years. the u.s. national cattle heard is at the smallest it's been in 50 years. tight supply, increasing demand on top driving the prices up. >> there's no solution for it right now, right? >> no, there isn't. ranchers here say the key to ramping is moisture. without moisture there's no ranching. the long term prospects if the drought doesn't break are not very good. >> thank you for the report. another issue associated with climate change is rising sea levels that could change america's coastline. science and technology correspondent jacob ward joins us from san francisco. rising sea levels - what's the percentage of u.s. population that could be affected by that?

>> it's surprising. it's a massive number of people, 50% of the u.s. population lives in coastal countries. 164 million people, and an additional 1.2 million join the ranks every year. coast lines are the center of so much commercial activity. two-thirds of oil coming onshore through the gulf of mexico. it's important to protect the coastline. the national climate assessment says that there could be rises of as high as 4.5 feet by the end of the century. sim standing above the -- standing above the high tide mark. an important port for the west coast, and if the projections become true, the 4.5 food rise, you'll see basically that where i'm standing, it will be underwater, inundated that all the way up into the fifth row behind me would be underwater.

that's the extraordinary effects that you would see. in fact, a climate scientist has created a map that illustrates the before and after effect of 4.5 feet of sea level rise in various cities. this is what san francisco will look like, the area i'm in, will be inundated. we have seen brooklyn, a hugely important port, and a mass if center of tourism for new york, and the coastal communities along there will be inundated, a trendsly affected part of the united states. these are pretty much hard targets, as it were. these are places that pride themselves on being relatively prepared for the floods. when you look at the international picture, behind the borders and look at cities like bangkok, the most visited city in the world. that city would be utterly inundated. it's not built to the codes ta we are. we are looking at a tremendous amount of damage. >> the national climate

assessment focuses on coastal city, if you look at half, here in the united states you would see a trillion in property damage alone. >> jacob, is there any - efforts in san francisco to try to mitigate essentially prepare for that possible eventuality as opposed to trying to reverse the climate change, and get ready for it? >> that's really the devil's bargain, that so many civil engineers are dealing with right now. if you were to simply create hard barriers, sea walls and the like around the vulnerable cities. you trade off one of the things that makes the place magical. when you build sea walls it contributes to erosion and the changing of the environment there in such a way that sea life can no longer live there, you no longer have all the things making it beautiful. which is why 164 americans live there. it's something we need to look

at mitigating the effects in the way countries like the netherlands do, and that's the only possible strategy in front of us. >> jacob ward, thank you for the report. our coverage of the climate report will continue on "inside story," that's next with ray suarez on al jazeera america. >> the big international reports on climate change have not moved the needle as much in the united states. the white house gathered the latest science and focusing on the here and now. will that get your attention? that's inside story.